Wizz Air has recorded a net profit of €292 million in the full year to March 31, 2019, up 6% from the €275 million experienced in 2018.
The airline has said this is driven by a 17% increase in the number of passengers, from 29.6 million to 34.6 million.
“Wizz Air has once again delivered record passenger numbers and revenues, while also delivering higher load factors and a record net profit,” said the airline’s CEO, József Váradi. “The high economic growth rates across CEE continue and the opportunities created by Wizz Air’s ultra-low fares saw our revenues increase by 20 per cent, load factors reaching 93 per cent and passenger numbers of almost 35 million. This was a very solid performance given the absence of Easter traffic which fell into the end of the last financial year, higher fuel prices and a challenging operating environment across the industry.”
The airline has stated that its load factor increased by 1.5 points with EBITDA rising 8.9% to €718.5 million.
In the statement, CEO Váradi expects profits to increase further in 2020, in the €320 - €350 million range.
“We remain very optimistic for the current financial year. Higher fuel prices are supporting a stronger fare environment and we expect these macro conditions to provide Wizz Air with market share opportunities as weaker carriers withdraw unprofitable capacity,” he said.
Wizz Air currently operates 650 routes from 25 bases, and serves 44 countries. It has 112 aircraft in its fleet. The airline will take delivery of Airbus A321neo, with an order book of 253 aircraft to 2026.